VEGAN CHERRY PIE!!!!!!

WARNING: THIS IS HANDS DOWN THE BEST CHERRY PIE YOU WILL EVER EAT. RECIPE MAY BECOME VERY DANGEROUS AFTER FIRST CONSUMPTION.


Special thanks to Sarah Grimwood for this insanely amazing recipe. You can follow Sarah on twitter at @lunchsnob.

The Best Vegan Cherry Pie In The World

Crust, makes 2
3 c. Flour (I used white Spelt)
1 1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 c. Olive Oil 
1/4 c. Coconut Oil
4 1/2 TBSP. Cold Water

Add flour and salt to mixing bowl.

Add oil and mix well with a fork.

Sprinkle cold water over mixture and mix well.

With hands, press mixture into a smooth ball. (If mix is too dry, add 1-2 T. more oil, a little at a time and then shape into a ball.) Divide ball in half.

At this point you can either put it in the fridge to firm up for about 10 minutes or roll out between wax paper or on a well floured surface.

Cherry Filling:
5 cups fresh pitted cherries
4 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup vegan sugar
2 tbsp vegan butter

Toss first 4 ingredients together, pour into prepared pie shell, dot with butter and lay the top pie crust on and pinch edges to seal. Cut 4 small slits to vent pie. Brush with almond milk and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake at 400 degrees for 60 minutes until crust is golden and filling is bubbling. You may need to add foil to the edges if its browning to quickly.

Cool to room temperature before slicing. Enjoy!

Coconut Cream Topping
1 can of full fat coconut milk 
1-2 TBSP pure maple syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla (optional)
Zest from half a lemon (optional)

Refrigerate can overnight.

Open up and scoop out the solid cream, if its not solid it won't work, get a new can. Do not add the liquid.

Add the maple syrup and mix until smooth and blended. Store in fridge until ready to use.  

Becoming a Vegan Gladiator & MASSIVE Vegan Proteins/Health & Fitness/Bodybuilding Giveaway!

Here's a quick journey in pictures (and some words) of my vegan bodybuilding & fitness journey over the past two months.  At the end, you get the chance to win part of a $300+ multi-prize package in the coolest giveaway KMIV has done.  Get started & finish strong.  Have fun & good luck!

This is what I was planning on running (and eventually ran):
This is what used for training:
Insanity: The 60-Day Total Body Condition Program.  Six days a week for nine weeks, working out from the comfort of my own home. Thirty to sixty minutes of pure sweat, extreme core & endurance workouts.  Interested in trying it out? Connect with Team Beachbody Coach Jessica Pease Jessup - she'll get you going.

This is what I used for my Vegan Power:



Vega Performance Protein (Chocolate's my favorite!), Pre-Workout Energizer, Recovery Accelerator, Protein Bars (Oh, how my taste buds crave Chocolate Saviseed), VegaOne Bars (Chocolate Almond? Chocolate Cherry? Can I have two faves?), VegaOne Nutritional Shakes, WarriorFood (Vanilla was quite tasty.)


This is what I wore:
                               


After two months of training with Insanity (with a lapse for vacation), the gym, and finally my own-invented RUNSANITY (contact me if you wanna hear more about it), I got into the shape I wanted to be in for the run (picture timeline from left to right to bottom), for me to prove mySelf as a... Vegan Gladiator.

 


And so I ran. Here are some highlights:

 
 

There was rope climbing, burpees with cinderblocks, laps with 40 lb. bags of rice, an ice-cold pool (which I had to submerge myself in), 8 ft. walls & dumpsters to scale, wooden pegs and log bridges to traverse, and, oh yeah, lots and lots of mud. Mud to crawl through, mud to walk through, mud walls to get over.  I'll be posting a video compilation sometime - here's my facebook page if you want to follow along.
__________

Now that my 2nd Gladiator Run and training journey is over, it's time to start the next. For me - and for you. So Kiss Me, I'm Vegan! & Vegan Proteins is teaming up to put you in prime position to enhance your health, bodybuilding, and fitness goals with a MASSIVE giveaway, featuring prizes that total over $300 in value.

Here are the prize packages:

Vegan Gladiator Grand Prize - NEW Vega Sport Energizer (new formula, sugar-free! & ONLY available at Vegan Proteins, now on pre-sale exclusive), Vega Energizing Smoothie, Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness book, Vega t-shirt, blender bottle, Vega tote bag, AND a BRAND NEW Training Meal Program by Dani Taylor (Official PlantBuilt.com Online Training Coach & VeganProteins.com Online Personal Training Coach)

Vegan Gladiator-In-Training Runner-Up Prize - 250g tub of Warrior Food (vanilla), 1 lb tub of PlantFusion (cookies 'n creme), VitaMineral Earth, PlantFusion shaker bottle, and PlantFusion t-shirt

Vegan Squire Consolation Prize - Vegan Proteins t-shirt and Vegan Health & Fitness Magazine's Spring 2013 issue

Check out the Vegan Proteins website here.  This giveaway is special because it features a product and a service which are brand spankin' new. Excited to get people boosted with the new energizer and on-track with training meal plans with Dani.

Meet Giacomo. He's running the show at Vegan Proteins (with Dani, co-founder and Giacomo's trainer extraordinaire) and has the body to prove it:

 

And here's how you enter! - it's simple and fun. Check out the Rafflecopter widget below. Earn yourSelf more entries into the raffle giveaway by following directions for each task.  NOTE: if you utilize a method to grab an extra entry, please make sure you've actually done it or it will be considered ineligible if chosen as the winning entry.

Good luck to all you Gladiators of Compassion (and so much more)!


PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE READ FOR GEORGE.

Please take a moment to read the following post by my very vegan husband, Steven Todd Smith.

George was a beloved duck in the San Antonio River Walk area. He hung out by the Original Mexican Restaurant and was friendly toward patrons. A couple of nights ago, two guys tortured and killed George. It's a sad occurrence and I'm sure very sad for the people who interacted with him or even had the chance to meet him once.

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I know some ducks who now live at Farm Sanctuary's Animal Acres They're adorable and a lot of them are shy. They waddle around, eat, swim & lounge in their little pools. Lindsay and I sponsored a goose named Winny when she first arrived at the sanctuary. We love her very much, visit her, and play and cuddle with her. Although she can be a bit nippy sometimes to those she doesn't feel safe around, we have developed a sincere bond with her and only get affectionate snuggles and nibbles now. I've even seen Lindsay walk into Winny's area, lay down, and watch in awe as Winny remembers Lindsay and calmly climbs on top of her. It's a bond that can only be built through mutual respect, kindness, and love. 

Here is Kate Winslet narrating a video about Foie Gras cruelty. Foie Gras, meaning "fat(ty) liver," is a delicacy among some circles & high-end diners. To create this dish of a duck's fatty liver, the duck has to be force-fed until the liver is abnormally large. The ducks either die or are killed, and then people eat their livers. You can read more about it here. Ducks are also eaten for their flesh, not just their fatty livers.

Whether we're talking about George, Winny, or the many ducks and geese killed for foie gras that remain nameless, we're talking about living beings, living creatures, animals whom we, as humans, have the ability to develop relationships with, just like our own companion animals: dogs, cats, pigs, chickens, etc. A story like George's, which is truly sad, is shared with such sorrow and heaviness, while there are no stories shared (of the same kind) of the billions of ducks and geese - who could be named George, who could be as friendly as George - who are killed for their flesh or fatty livers, also truly sad.

If you are sad about George's death, just like the newscasters and those in the River Walk area, I highly recommend that you think about your food choices a little, or a lot, deeper. Duck, cow, pig, chicken, goat, dog, cat - all of these animals are eaten by some people around the world; all of these animals have names and are friendly companions to some people around the world. 

We must, as human beings, bridge the disconnect and live in alignment with our beliefs and values; if that involves kindness, compassion, and an adversity to killing (innocent beings), then it must be for all, for George and all like George.

Go to www.chooseveg.com to learn how to take steps toward a more compassionate lifestyle, and thank you for reading today. 
Dear vegan food,

Thank you. For nearly five years of beautiful, yummy, compassionate bliss. For always satisfying every single taste bud. For keeping my body energized and strong. For enduring the first year of trial and error as I learned how to cook you. For being patient as I tasted different kinds of you over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again until I realized I liked you. All of you. For being more delicious, more fulfilling, more comforting than any animal-based food I've ever had. For not purposely harming a single living being in the making of you. For being healthy (most of you). For always being there, in my kitchen, no matter what kind of day I've had. For loving me back by making my body smile, my heart stay open, and my mind remain at peace. I love you and will continue eating you - and only you - for as long as I can eat. That's a promise.
Love,

Lindsay

Real Men Are Vegan!

My sexy vegan husband with Paulo at
Farm Sanctuary's Animal Acres. 
"It takes no great feat of strength to drive through KFC and pick up a bucket of chicken parts. It takes zero courage to pay desperate (and often illegal) workers to slaughter the most docile and defenseless creatures on earth. And hunting down a hot dog while watching the game hardly qualifies as bravery.
What DOES take strength, courage and fortitude is standing up for what’s right – even if it’s inconvenient, or means going against the grain. While many stereotypes about manhood ring false for me, some do ring true. In my opinion, real men are those who stand tall to protect the weak and defenseless. Real men choose integrity over peer-pressure. Real men don’t harm and kill others for pleasure or “sport.” Real men fight for justice and refuse to participate in the needless exploitation and oppression of others.
In other words, real men are vegan."
- from the blog, Veganism Is the Future
Comment if you are a strong, vegan man or know one who is!

Celebrating Earth Day and VegWeek 2013! Make a Pledge!

It's that time again! Celebrate Earth Day and VegWeek 2013 with a revamped KMIV post from last year.

Today, Monday, April 22nd is our 43rd anniversary of Earth Day, a day observed to celebrate this amazing planet on which we live by doing "green" acts of good to positively benefit our Earth.  Over 1 billion people all over the world actively celebrated this year's Earth Day, as shared by the Earth Day Network, with pledges ranging from planting gardens to "unplugging" for the day, from recycling to limiting water usage.

Within the past couple of years, the United Nations has been outspoken on the one greatest contributor to our global climate/environment issue: the consumption of animal products.  Some recent articles, here and here, detail the latest environmental statistics.  With the meat and dairy industries' blatant over-usage of earth's precious resources (water and fossil fuels specifically), with the devastation of rainforests to clear space for animal agriculture, with unnecessary pollution, runoff, waste and excess climate-changing gases produced from factory farms (and other smaller animal-based industries), our planet - and therefore, all life on it - is suffering tremendously.  While all of the pledges listed above are valuable in their own ways, there is one specific choice that can make the most difference: adopt a compassionate, healthful, Earth-friendly vegan diet.  And here's why!



A 2011 study conducted by the Vegetarian Resource Group showed that 2.5% of the US population - that's about 8 million people - consume vegan diets, double the amount from 2009.   And along with this "market for vegan food," there's been a distinct decrease in the amount of meat, dairy, and eggs consumed, as noted in Nil Zacharius' HuffPo article.

We still have a long way to go though, and that's why we're reaching out to you to help make a difference this year - which will end up making a difference for all years to come. 


This week is VegWeek!  Running from today, Monday, April 22nd through Sunday, April 28th, this week is all about making those compassionate, healthful, Earth-friendly choices to benefit all life on our planet along with our Earth herself!  What can you do?  So many things!

1) Do you eat omnivorously?  Not sure what to do?  Start simple and try one day of plant-based meals.  Just one day.  It's amazing what even one day can do to benefit the TriVegta™ (health, animals, environment)... 

Yeah, still proud of my invented TriVegta™.


The late Oreo at Animal Acres. (Photo © Cameron O'Steen)
2) Are you bold?  Do you want to make a difference?  Take a 7-day Veg Pledge (and maybe win some cool prizes from Compassion Over Killing)!

3) Vegetarian? Go Vegan one day! Or even better: the whole week!

4) Vegan? Encourage at least one friend, family member, coworker to try any of options #1-3!

5) Human being? Well, if you are (I think that means every one of you), then please share this blog post to help spread the word about the greatest choice to save our world!


Check out COK's resources, upcoming events, participating VegWeek restaurants, and sponsors, and do your best to make every day an Earth day.

Please comment below with your Earth Day/VegWeek 2013 pledge!  Help make the biggest difference you can!

Kisses,
Lindsay and Steve


Enjoy some more of these articles on veganism, the environmental toll from eating meat, etc.




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